WNTK Local News

Republican Presidential Candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld is set to make multiple campaign stops in Vermont Thursday, reports MyNBC 5.

Weld’s tour of the state comes ahead of next week’s primary. While Weld knows that he is an underdog in the race, he enjoys that status.

While Weld is a Republican, he stands opposed to some of Trump’s platforms. “We have to be serious about preventing the polar ice caps from melting,” Weld stated to MyNBC 5. “We must engage the world.”

Weld was an appointee of President Ronald Reagan during his presidency, being pegged to run the Justice Department.

Weld has stated that if he loses the GOP nominee to Trump, he will back the democratic candidate in November’s Presidential Election.

An Alstead, New Hampshire man’s trial for alleged sexual assault has been scheduled for April, reports Sentinel Source.

32-year-old JD Crawford is alleged to have raped a teenage girl and breaking her jaw last spring. He then threatened her with retribution if she spoke to police. When officers attempted to arrest him and his wife in January, he fled, leading to a six-hour manhunt. Jury selection for the case has been set for April 13.

Crawford will be attempting to represent himself in court, against many’s assertions that it carries risk.

The Lebanon, New Hampshire Police Department have announced the arrest of a man involved in an underage sex ring, reports WCAX.

30-year-old Micah Corteau of Dalton, NH was arrested on Wednesday. Police state that he used social media to arrange a meeting with a juvenile he planned to have sex with, leading to his arrest.

He faces several charges including attempted felonious sexual assault.

The town of Springfield, Vermont has received a $15,000 dollar planning grant, reports The Vermont Journal.

The grant comes as part of the Vermont Working Communities Challenge. Springfield was one of eight regions in Vermont given the funding. All eight will send representatives to three meetings and will engage with the public to prepare their grant application. The co-recipients of Springfield’s piece of the grant are the Springfield Regional Development Corporation and the River Valley Technical Center, who were selected by an independent jury.

SRDC and RVTC hope to use the grant to increase the area’s workforce participation, job retention, and racial equality.

A Claremont, New Hampshire company is looking to open and operate an indoor construction and demolition site, reports NH Business Review.

American Recycling has filed a ‘special exception’ and three variances to the Claremont zoning board of adjustment. If this is approved, the motion will move on to the city’s planning board.

The plan describes the building of a 1.5 acre, 48-foot tall facility by the railroad tracks on Industrial Boulevard. The facility would reportedly intake “300 to 500 tons of construction and demolition debris per day.”

The plan faces backlash by the group A Better Claremont, which was formed to fight an original plan given last year, and reportedly will fight this one as well.

The zoning board will meet to review the plans on March 2, 2020.

The Vermont House has overridden Governor Phil Scott’s veto of a minimum wage bill, reports WCAX.

On Tuesday morning, the House voted 100 to 49, achieving the two-third’s threshold, to override his veto of a bill that will see Vermont’s minimum wage climb to $12.55 by 2022. This veto override was approved in the Senate 24-6 earlier this month. Scott declined to comment on camera, instead issuing a statement. “…With the Legislature choosing to override these concerns, I hope for the sake of our rural community they are correct,” he commented.

This was the first successful veto override since 2009 in the state.

A rock slide in Sharon, Vermont has closed a section of Interstate 89, reports the Vermont State Police via their Facebook page.

At approximately 4 PM on Tuesday, the landslide sent several large boulders and debris into the traveling lane of I-89. The event took place just before the Exit 2 off-ramp. Currently, vehicles are able to pass but officials expect delays for a few hours. Drivers are being encouraged to be patient, or take alternative routes.

No injuries were reported, but one vehicle has sustained damage so far.

Sturm, Ruger, and Co. have announced a drop in profits for 2019, reports NH Business Review.

Sales for the Connecticut based company were reported at $410.5 million for the year, a 17% decrease from 2018. This drop accompanied a $1-per-share decline as well. One factor possibly at fault is price under-cutting from competitors. While others drop prices, Ruger has stayed steadfast, instead choosing to reduce production by 18% over the year.

According to CEO Christopher Killoy sales began to uptick at the end of the fourth quarter, which for him is a promising sign. This trend continued into the new year.

A tractor-trailer truck reportedly rolled over and caught fire on Interstate 93 Monday, reports WMUR.

At approximately 10:45 AM, the truck, which carried a load half-filled with gravel, crashed and rolled over. The collision, which took place near Cantebury, NH, caused the truck to catch fire. Police state that the vehicle went off the left side of the road, but the crash is under investigation. One person was taken to the hospital to treat minor injuries.

As of 12:30 this afternoon, two lanes of traffic were still shut down, and vehicles were moving using the breakdown lane.

The town of Woodstock, Vermont is mulling the idea of hiring full-time emergency medical technicians, reports WCAX.

Fire Chief David Green states that the possible move is due to Woodstock, “becoming a community of retirees and second-home owners.” This leads to a lack of possible volunteers. On March 3, residents of the town will vote on the authorization of $4.5 million to expand and renovate the public safety building in town. With this, they would also be asked to spend $593,000 to pay full-time emergency responders.

The lack of volunteers or staff reportedly led to the department being spread thin, and not being able to make it to every emergency call they receive.